April 23, 2021

Looking Back - Ex LIbris

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.



Nonfiction
1998 Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Finished on April 29, 2000
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Anne Fadiman is--by her own admission--the sort of person who learned about sex from her father's copy of Fanny Hill, whose husband buys her 19 pounds of dusty books for her birthday, and who once found herself poring over her roommate's 1974 Toyota Corolla manual because it was the only written material in the apartment that she had not read at least twice.

This witty collection of essays recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language. For Fadiman, as for many passionate readers, the books she loves have become chapters in her own life story. Writing with remarkable grace, she revives the tradition of the well-crafted personal essay, moving easily from anecdotes about Coleridge and Orwell to tales of her own pathologically literary family. As someone who played at blocks with her father's 22-volume set of Trollope ("My Ancestral Castles") and who only really considered herself married when she and her husband had merged collections ("Marrying Libraries"), she is exquisitely well equipped to expand upon the art of inscriptions, the perverse pleasures of compulsive proof-reading, the allure of long words, and the satisfactions of reading out loud. There is even a foray into pure literary gluttony--Charles Lamb liked buttered muffin crumbs between the leaves, and Fadiman knows of more than one reader who literally consumes page corners. Perfectly balanced between humor and erudition, Ex Libris establishes Fadiman as one of our finest contemporary essayists.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

Fadiman speaks joyfully of books, book collecting, and book ownership. 18 charming essays - my favorites are Marrying Libraries, Never Do That to a Book, Inse^t a Carrot, Eternal Ink, The Catalogical Imperative, and My Odd Shelf.

My Current Thoughts:

I was surprised to discover a copy of this book in my bookcase. I thought it wound up in the discard pile when I was culling my books before our move four years ago, but I must have decided it was worth keeping in spite of not loving it. I find that when I read a collection of short stories, poetry or essays, there may be a handful that I enjoy, but not usually the majority of the offerings. I love books about books, so I'll give Ex Libris another read and see how I feel about it now some time has passed since my first reading.

8 comments:

  1. There are books with certain themes that I assign bonus points to, simply for containing that theme...books about Paris...books about nature...and books-about-books. I wonder if you find you like it more...or less...when you reread it.

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    1. Deb, I actually think I've read this a couple of times, so it's one I know I want to read again. Maybe later next month...

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  2. I enjoy books about books usually. I am not much of an essay collection fan though. I am reading a book right now that is a collection of essays, I suppose which did not hit me right at the beginning but is growing on my because it's hilarious. Broken, by Jenny Lawson who used to be a blogger. Maybe she still is. It's wild and ridiculous but it was just want I needed yesterday.

    I think it's interesting that you kept the book even though you didn't love it. I wonder if you had someone in mind to give it to. I keep books for people all the time.

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    1. Ti, I've read a lot of books about books/bookstores, both fiction and nonfiction. I might put together a post about my favorites since it seems most readers are drawn to this genre.

      Broken sounds like an entertaining book. I know of the author, but haven't read anything she's written (or her blog).

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  3. I do like personal essays and personal essays about books and libraries would certainly catch my interest. :)

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    1. Jenclair, I love personal essays and memoirs, particularly written by women near my own age. I think I'll read this again later next month.

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  4. I'm pretty sure I found parts of this one interesting and something I could connect with but I don't think I was as wowed as I was expecting to be. I wonder if I still have my copy. I may have let go of it too!

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    1. Iliana, this is one I can easily sit down with and read again. We'll see how I like it and if it remains on my "keeper" shelf.

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I may not answer your comments in a timely fashion, but I always answer. Check back soon!